Abstract

A promising progenitor scenario for Type Ia supernovae (SNeIa) is the thermonuclear detonation of a white dwarf in a close binary system with another white dwarf. After the primary star explodes, the surviving donor tin can be spontaneously released as a hypervelocity runaway. Ane such runaway donor candidate is LP 398-9, whose orbital trajectory traces back ≈x5 yr to a known supernova remnant. Here, we report the discovery of carbon-rich circumstellar fabric around LP 398-9, revealed past a strong infrared excess and analysed with follow-upwardly spectroscopy. The circumstellar cloth is well-nigh plausibly equanimous of inflated layers from the star itself, mechanically and radioactively heated past the past companion's supernova. We also discover a 15.4 h periodic bespeak in the UV and optical light curves of LP 398-nine, which we translate as surface rotation. The rotation rate is consistent with theoretical predictions from this supernova mechanism, and the brightness variations could originate from surface inhomogeneity deposited by the supernova itself. Our observations strengthen the case for this double-degenerate SNIa progenitor channel, and motivate the search for more runaway SNIa donors.

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